February 23, 2024

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Warner Bros. Discovery achieves a streaming milestone, but other financial issues prompt a tough day for the company on Wall Street. … Nike tries to conduct some damage control on the festering MLB uniform issue, but problems continue to be revealed. … The NFL sets a new record with its now finalized 2024 salary cap. … Plus: More on LSU, the Bengals, Russian sports, and Italian soccer.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

WBD Touts Streaming Profit, Sports Alliance While Stock Is Hammered [[link removed]]

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Warner Bros. Discovery reported a significant milestone Friday, becoming the first major U.S. media conglomerate to post a full-year profit from its streaming business. But that achievement was far from enough as the TNT Sports parent posted a $400 million fourth-quarter net loss, helping fuel a nearly 10% stock drop.

The company, which recently rebranded [[link removed]] its sports division, said it logged a $103 million profit last year from its direct-to-consumer division, which includes its Max platform that continues to elevate [[link removed]] its college and pro sports content. The figure dramatically reversed a $1.6 billion loss in that segment in 2022. Such a financial milestone in streaming has yet to be reached by major competitors such as Disney [[link removed]], Comcast [[link removed]], or Paramount.

That news, however, was quickly overshadowed by revenue and adjusted earnings that missed Wall Street projections, with both measures weakened by drops in the company’s advertising and theatrical production businesses. WBD shares closed Thursday at $8.61, down 9.94%. The stock hit a new company low, and is down by nearly two-thirds compared to April 2022, when Discovery Inc. and AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia completed a landmark merger.

“This business is not without its challenges,” said WBD CEO David Zaslav. “Among them, we continue to face the impacts of ongoing disruption in the pay-TV ecosystem and a dislocated linear advertising ecosystem.”

Touting the Alliance

Zaslav, meanwhile, made his first public comments about the company’s high-profile sports streaming joint venture [[link removed]] with ESPN and Fox, one that has already generated a legal challenge [[link removed]] from FuboTV. Beyond reaching a large potential market of cord-cutters and cord-nevers, Zaslav said eliminating channel confusion among sports fans is key for the still-unnamed service.

“Today, people are thinking, ‘What channel should I watch? What channel is my sport on?’ You’ll be able to go to this new product, this new app-based product, and if you watch the baseball playoffs, you’ll watch all of them and you won’t be thinking, ‘What channel is it on?’ Hockey, you’ll watch all of the hockey playoffs, right through the Stanley Cup,” Zaslav said. “For [pro] basketball, you’ll watch all the playoffs right through to the championships, and you will never think or ever have to Google where it is.”

Zaslav’s examples for MLB, the NHL, and NBA, however, denote three pro leagues whose national rights are held entirely by the participating companies. For many other properties, that isn’t true. Still, Zaslav touted the effort’s move toward greater streaming rebundling.

“In the longer term, I expect that there will be meaningful bundling,” he said. “It’s going to happen in one of two ways. It’ll be either a bundling by an intermediary, a platform company like an Apple or an Amazon or a Roku, or what’s going on with Charter and Comcast. … Or we could do it ourselves, and I’ve always advocated that we should do it ourselves.”

Despite Nike’s Efforts, MLB Uniform Controversy Isn’t Looking Good [[link removed]]

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

Nike has made its first overt attempt at damage control surrounding MLB’s new and oft-criticized uniforms [[link removed]], but the step has only served to further inflame the growing controversy.

After more than a week of player unrest surrounding the lighter and more flexible but see-through designs, developed in partnership with Fanatics, Nike issued a public statement late Thursday about its efforts.

“We always put the athlete at the center of everything we do,” Nike said. “We worked closely with MLB players, teams, and the league to create the most advanced uniforms in the history of MLB, which are lighter and more flexible. The quality and performance of our product is of the utmost importance to us. We will continue to work with MLB, the players, and our manufacturing partner to address player uniforms.”

The sentiment, however, has not helped to quell the concerns, as MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark reiterated Thursday that the uniform issue—and particularly the see-through pants—is top of mind among the union membership.

“It’s disappointing that we’ve landed in a place where the uniforms are the topic of discussion,” Clark said as he continued a tour of spring training camps. “It’s been an ongoing conversation where each day has yielded something new that doesn’t seem to make as much sense as you would like it. … [The] universal concern is the pant.”

Swing and a Miss

DraftKings and NESN personality Jared Carrabis went further, posting [[link removed]] on X, “Every time I’ve seen the backlash addressed, all [Nike and MLB] do is talk about how light and flexible jerseys are. They keep ignoring the whole letters looking stupid and being able to see everybody’s testicles thing.”

Meanwhile, a growing number of players have staged their own silent protests by wearing uniform pants from last year as spring training continues. Product availability issues have also arisen [[link removed]], and not all of MLB’s 30 teams have received their full allotment of the new pants. Because of that, the Padres wore last year’s pants Thursday for their Cactus League opener against the Dodgers.

Not the First Time

The MLB uniform situation and the player frustration bear watching as it carries some thematic similarities to the NBA’s brief and ill-fated attempt in 2006 to introduce a synthetic composition basketball.

After widespread player complaints—and ultimately charges—levied against the league by the National Basketball Players Association of unfair labor practices, the NBA switched back to the traditional leather ball.

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Football’s Financial Boom

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL has experienced a financial boom in recent years, with its salary cap more than doubling over a decade. From 2011 to ’24, the cap soared from $120.4 million to a staggering $255.4 million next season, reflecting the league’s immense growth and economic success. Here is a summary [[link removed]] of the cap totals over the last 14 years:

2011: $120.4 million 2012: $120.6 million 2013: $121.1 million 2014: $133 million 2015: $143.28 million 2016: $155.27 million 2017: $167 million 2018: $177.2 million 2019: $188.2 million 2020: $198.2 million 2021: $182.5 million 2022: $208.2 million 2023: $224.8 million 2024: $255.4 million STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

LSU ⬇ The SEC fined [[link removed]] the school $100,000 after fans stormed the court at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center following the Tigers’ last-second victory over Kentucky on Wednesday night. A second offense this season would cost LSU $250,000, and a third would be $500,000.

Bengals ⬆ The NFL team is switching the artificial playing surface at Paycor Stadium from slit-film turf to FieldTurf. Slit-film surfaces have seen a higher rate [[link removed]] of noncontact lower-extremity injuries than other synthetic surfaces. FieldTurf, the surface used at MetLife Stadium where Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles, will be at six NFL venues this fall.

Russia ⬇ The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied [[link removed]] the country’s appeal of a suspension from the IOC for recognizing regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. Russia won’t be associated with the Summer Games in Paris, but a final decision about whether Russian athletes will be allowed to compete hasn’t been made.

Soccer in Milan ⬆ The city’s mayor met [[link removed]] with officials from Inter and AC Milan to discuss how the two Serie A clubs can revamp the historic San Siro Stadium. Previously, the teams decided to pursue separate efforts after a $1.3 billion plan for San Siro fell through.

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Conversation Starters The Bears have officially hired [[link removed]] Jennifer King as an offensive assistant—the first female coach in the team’s 104-year history. A Utah legislator has introduced [[link removed]] a bill to provide $900 million toward building a state-owned baseball stadium as part of a new public partnership between the state and the Larry Miller Company. Now they just need a baseball team. TCU has unveiled [[link removed]] a new look at the Simpson Family Restoration and Wellness Center—part of a $50 million performance expansion—that will benefit all 22 of the school’s sports. Editors’ Picks Diamondbacks Heading Into Another Season With MLB in Charge of Media Rights [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The D-Backs chose the league over getting their own over-the-air partners. Tuned In: Hulu Turning Glen Powell Into Eli Manning With ‘Chad Powers’ Comedy [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ star will play the comedic QB Manning created for ESPN+. Coaches Aren’t Happy With College Football—Some Are Getting Out While They Can [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]NIL and the transfer portal have many college football coaches getting new jobs. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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